Mallophora fautrix

Geographic Range

Mallophora fautrix , a species of bee-killing robber fly, is native to Neoartic and Northern Neotropical regions. In the US, they are found as far East as Louisiana, and West through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California. In Mexico, they have been documented as far South as Veracruz.

• Biogeographic Regions
• nearctic nearctic
  • native native
• neotropical neotropical
  • native native

Habitat

Mallophora species commonly are found occupying prairies, pastures, grassy fields, and gardens. They usually situate themselves on tall plant stalks or branches in sunny areas. This gives them a vantage point with which to spot their prey.

• Habitat Regions
• temperate temperate
• terrestrial terrestrial

• Terrestrial Biomes
• savanna or grassland savanna or grassland

• Other Habitat Features
• suburban suburban

Physical Description

All species in the genus Mallophora imitate bees. Mallophora fautrix mimics the workers of an American Bumble Bee species. ( Bombus sonorus ) Males and females of the species are both around 15-20mm in length. They have brown wings, with patches of yellow, white, and black hair on their body. Bodies of this species also feature a black thorax, with brown legs covered in black hairs. Their face is full of yellow hair, with two large compound eyes, and small reddish antennae. As is the case with all robber flies, they have a small indent between their two eyes.

• Other Physical Features
• ectothermic ectothermic
• bilateral symmetry bilateral symmetry

• Sexual Dimorphism
• sexes alike

Development

While the knowledge on much of the development of many Mallophora species is unknown, what is known is that Mallophora eggs are laid in the ground. These eggs hatch into larvae. Some Mallophora species' larvae are ectoparasites on scarabaeid beetle grubs. The larvae, after going through several instars, pupate, and become adults.

• Development - Life Cycle
• metamorphosis metamorphosis

Reproduction

While the reproduction behavior of Mallophora is undocumented, it is known that robber flies have minimal courtship behavior, where the males prefer to pounce on females and reproduce with them through tail-to-tail copulation.

• Mating System
• monogamous monogamous

Mallophora fautrix individuals reproduce after the emergence of the adult stage. Reproduction is seasonal, since adults are active from April to November.

• Key Reproductive Features
• semelparous semelparous
• seasonal breeding seasonal breeding
• gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
• sexual sexual
• fertilization fertilization
  • internal internal
• oviparous oviparous

The extent of parental investment in Mallophora is laying eggs in soil in order to give the larvae a suitable environment to grow.

• Parental Investment
• female parental care female parental care
• pre-hatching/birth

Lifespan/Longevity

While the life span of Mallophora fautrix is unknown, many robber fly species' life-spans take more than a year to complete.

Behavior

Mallophora fautrix are a solitary, diurnal species. They hunt alone during the day, perched vertically or horizontally on a stem or branch, waiting to spot prey. When moving from perch to perch, or when pursuing prey, these bee-killers fly using their pair of wings. Male robber flies are known to be highly territorial, which is likely to apply to Mallophora fautrix as well.

• Key Behaviors
• flies
• diurnal diurnal
• motile motile
• sedentary sedentary
• solitary solitary
• territorial territorial

Home Range

There is no information currently about the home range of Mallophora fautrix .

Communication and Perception

All species of Robber flies, Mallophora fautrix included, have sharp vision, as characterized by their two large, compound eyes. These high powered eyes are especially useful when hunting, since the flies can spot their targets and attack with deadly precision. They also use their eyes to search for a mate to reproduce with. The two mates reproduce by attaching reproductive organs on their tails.

• Communication Channels
• visual visual
• tactile tactile

• Perception Channels
• visual visual

Food Habits

Mallophora fautrix , like all Mallophora species, is known as a "bee killer". This is because these robber flies are specifically adapted to hunt bees and wasps. Mallophora fautrix would be classified as a carnivore, but more specifically an insectivore. Adults pounce on their prey from the air, subduing prey with their strong legs. They then inject their prey with digestive enzyme filled saliva, liquefying the insides of the bee or wasp. The fly then perches in a safe area with its meal. Mallophora fautrix is known to feed on just about every bee species, such as the common honey bee species Apis mellifera .

• Primary Diet
• carnivore carnivore
  • insectivore insectivore

• Animal Foods
• insects

Predation

Mallophora fautrix has no documented predation defenses, though robber flies are known for being able to deliver a painful bite. There are no documented predators of Mallophora fautrix , though robber flies are known to be prey to insect-eating birds.

Ecosystem Roles

Adult Mallophora fautrix are both predator and prey as adults. They act as predators, eating bees, wasps, and other insects, and fall prey to insect-eating birds. As larvae, some Mallophora species act as parasites, though it is unknown if Mallophora fautrix larvae exhibit these same behaviors.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

There are no documented economic benefits of Mallophora fautrix .

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Though Mallophora fautrix does prey upon vital pollinators like bees, wasps, and other flying insects, as well as honey producing bees, there are no documented instances of the species having a negative economic impact. There have however been rare reports of other species in Mallophora , such as Mallophora bomboides , causing economic losses to beekeepers. Also, robber flies are known to have a painful bite to humans if handled incorrectly.

• Negative Impacts
• injures humans
  • bites or stings

Conservation Status

There is no special conservation status for Mallophora fautrix .

Additional Links

Encyclopedia of Life

Contributors

Matthew Ewing (author), Colorado State University, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

References

Bromley, S. 1930. Bee-Killing Robber Flies. Journal of the New York Entomological Society , Vol. 38 No.2: 159-176. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://www.jstor.org/stable/25004364 .

Dennis, S. 2015. "Oviposition, Eggs, and First Instar Larvae of Mallophora orcina (Wiedemann, 1828) (Diptera: Asilidae),". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington , Vol. 117 No.3: 269-280. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.117.3.269 .

Estrada, A., J. Nápoles. 2020. New distribution records of Asilidae (Insecta: Diptera) for Mexico. Insecta Mundi A Journal of World Insect Systematics , 0783: 1-13. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2279&context=insectamundi .

Finn, E. 2003. "Featured creatures: Robber Flies" (On-line). Featured Creatures Entomology & Nematology. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/flies/robber_flies.htm .

Pant, A., S. Mopper. 2020. "Earliest Record of the Bee-Mimic Robber Fly, Mallophora fautrix Osten Sacken 1887 (Diptera: Asilidae), in Louisiana,". Southeastern Naturalist , Vol. 19 No.2: 32-37. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://doi.org/10.1656/058.019.0219 .

Pollock, D. 2020. "New Records of Ground and Tiger Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) As Prey for Asilidae (Diptera) in the High Plains of New Mexico and Texas,". The Coleopterists Bulletin , Vol. 74 No.1: 15-23. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-74.1.15 .

Steck, G. 2004. "Featured creatures: Bee Killers" (On-line). Featured Creatures Entomology & Nematology. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/flies/bee_killers.htm .

The University of Cambridge, 2017. "The remarkable hunting ability of the robber fly" (On-line). phys.org. Accessed March 22, 2022 at https://phys.org/news/2017-03-remarkable-ability-robber.html#:~:text=The%20robber%20fly%20has%20incredibly,several%20thousand%20lenses%20per%20eye. .

Bee Killers. Encyclopedia of Life . Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://eol.org/pages/54637 .

Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Mallophora. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=133767#null .

The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. 2022. "Robber Flies (Asilidae)" (On-line). Wisconsin Horticulture Division of Extension. Accessed February 13, 2022 at https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/robber-flies-asilidae/ .

Texas A&M. n/a. "Robber Fly" (On-line). Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. Accessed March 21, 2022 at https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/robber-fly/ .